Vyapam prime accused paid for top BJP, RSS leaders' expenses: Report
According to the documents accessed by NDTV news channel, business tycoon Sudhir Sharma made huge payments in cash for air tickets and other expenses of top politicians, including Suresh Soni of RSS and Prabhat Jha, who was the then BJP state president.
Accusations have also been levelled against Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for being facilitated by Sharma.
This was revealed in an income tax report, which was not pursued by the state police investigating the scam until last week before handling over the case to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The report was framed based on diaries recovered during raids on Sudhir Sharma.
Following the revelations, BJP's Shaina NC said that the party is not trying to protect anyone and that media should wait for the CBI to probe.
Pradhan, who was not an Union Minister then, told NDTV: "This may be an one sided argument. My tickets were booked by the party office."
He also said that he has "no links with Sudhir Sharma."
Hours after the revelation, the Congress party demanded the resignation of Pradhan and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
The party accused Chouhan of misleading the people from the floor of Madhya Pradesh Assembly.
"On 31.03.2011 Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan mislead the MP Assembly that there were no irregularities, but FIR copies show otherwise. There were several FIR's against impostor students in Indore, Bhopal etc but CM claimed otherwise," Congress leader Randeep Surjewala said during a press conference.
"CM claimed that there was forensic investigation done by Hyderabad lab, but RTI's reveal that no such investigation by STF," said he.
He also said that Chouhan lied to the house and mislead it by claiming that there was no Government or Vyapam officer is responsible.
"On the floor of Vidhan Sabha, later CM accepted that 1000 people were recruited through dubious means. why no action against them," said Surjewala.
Speaking about the NDTV revelation, the Congress leader said: "Kingpin of Vyapam Sudhir Sharma along with Lakshmikant Sharma shared Vyapam money with Union Min Dharmendra Pradhan .Sudhir Sharma also shared Vyapam money with BJP VP Shri Prabhat Jha and his sons Tushmul Jha and A Jha: Surjewala."
"Sudhir Sharma shared Vyapam money with Sar Sanghchalak Suresh Soni and BJP Rajya Sabha MP A. Dave." Randeep Surjewala said.
"We demand immediate resignation of Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Dharmendra Pradhan and action against Prabhat Jha & others," he said.
"Vypam's ill gotten money soiled in the blood of innocents was shared by BJP-RSS leaders," he added.
Bowing to the opposition pressure, the Chief Minister last week requested his state's High Court to order a CBI investigation into the Vyapam scam that left on its trail a series of mysterious deaths of persons-all connected to it in one way or the other.
About 2,800 people have been arrested in the Vyapam scam which allegedly involves top politicians, bureaucrats and others in arranging government jobs and admission to prestigious colleges in lieu of money.
Madhya Pradesh Governor Ram Naresh Yadav is one of those name as accused.
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